Cultural Significance of Our Moon

By M.Thangavelu

Our Moon, the moon of planet Earth, is special. The fifth largest moon in our solar system, our Moon is an old soul sister of planet Earth. She has been in orbit around the Earth since the time the early solar system took shape. Our Moon was born in a fiery tangle between a Mars-sized object and Earth, during the early period, when our solar system looked more like a free-for-all shooting gallery with bullets the size of planets whizzing around, and no sheriff in charge. She has been slowly tamed and nurtured over four and a half billion years, and now, literally embraced in a waltz that we call tidal locking, with her face toward mother Earth.

The evolution of planet Earth and life are inextricably linked to our Moon. Our biosphere and our species evolved as our Moon orbited our planet. Recurring geological phenomena, tidal and seasonal patterns, biorhythms are all suspect to, or have been attributed to lunar orbital motions. Even the stability of the Earth’s axis has been attributed to our Moon, allowing slow and steady evolution to happen on our blue planet.

Our Moon is an easy and rich target for beginner astronomy students. This photo was shot through the eyepiece of a small 10 inch Dobsonian with a handheld iphone, October 2019

Our Moon is one of the first objects that our children recognize and repeat (to inform us of their ability to observe, discern and recollect, perhaps?) as they train their eyes on the closest, brightest disc that adorns our night skies. Perhaps the innate, deep-seated, cross-cultural and transcendental emotions of Wonder and Awe are ignited during those formative years?

Children develop an emotional coupling with our Moon. The bedroom in our old home had a view window looking east. Some days, we could see the moonrise from our bed. One night, after our bedtime read, little Paul saw the waning half Moon and wondered aloud if he needed a change of battery.

Though our Sun is the giver of energy and life and dictates much daily life around the globe (Ra in Egyptian or Ra-vi in Sanskrit) our Moon is the object that is imprinted in our psyche very early in our lives. Hence the fascination with our Moon begins early and continues to impact our lives in ways both understood and still to be.

The Moon appears on many national flags and the crescent Moon is a widely recognized symbol.

Solar and lunar eclipses are transitory events that are purely based on orbital alignments of the Sun, the Moon and planet Earth. Almanacs from early civilizations show that these events were predictable even long ago. Yet, as they occur, such events evoke awe and wonder in people all over the world even today. Large groups flock to locations around the world to witness eclipses. While some classic scientific observations have been made during such events, rituals and cultural events are also planned around such occultations.

While modern scientific dogma is reticent and practitioners stay away from the illogical and alogical, astrologers hold the Moon in high esteem, and lunar motion impacts horoscope in very significant ways.

Though our Moon is the focus of scientific curiosity, many culturally relevant concepts have been proposed to bury time capsules, set up updateable humanity archives, DNA repositories and even presidential libraries and spiritual sanctuaries on our Moon. Ideas to hold lunar Olympics and a United Nations Summit headquarters have also been thought about. Orbiting luxury hotels, retirement resorts, cremation services for loved ones and memorial parks and monuments too have been proposed.

Lunar orbiting hotels would make for ideal one week vacations for those who are bored of Hawaii, skiing the Alps, diving in the Maldives, or staring at lions in African safaris.

The lunar humanity center would house the United Nations Summit Hq. as well as a variety of facilities including retirement homes and even host sporting and entertainment like the Lunar Olympics.

*The European Space Agency commissioned an artist, Spanish artist Jorge Mañes Rubio who proposed a lunar temple be located in the south polar region of the Moon. [credit ESA]*

In the Space Architecture Seminar in the USC School of Architecture a student proposed a Lunar Bath & Spiritual Nexus using polar water-ice resources. [credit Pornpavee Mungrueagsakul]

Earth-looking, high-resolution cameras placed on lunar landers, live streaming images of the Earth disc is an idea that is gaining attention not only for Earth Observation but also to instill a new global awareness of the fragility of our home planet and our biosphere that seems to be under siege by forces including the incessant ravages on nature by our own species.

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) recently captured a unique view of Earth from the spacecraft's vantage point in orbit around the moon. In this composite image we see Earth appear to rise over the lunar horizon from the viewpoint of the spa… — *NASA's* *Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter* (LRO) recently captured a unique view of Earth from the spacecraft's vantage point in orbit around the moon. In this composite image we see Earth appear to rise over the lunar horizon from the viewpoint of the spacecraft, with the center of the Earth just off the coast of Liberia (at 4.04 degrees North, 12.44 degrees West).[credit NASA 2015]

The Moon Village Association is an international citizen organization that proposes to plant such an Earth-looking telescope as part of their first mission to the surface of the Moon, aiming to bring humanity together in a peaceful, truly progressive and globally inclusive endeavor. Seasoned policymakers, scientists and engineers within the Moon Village Association and citizen organizations like the National Space Society and the Planetary Society provide valuable feedback to guide the activities and projects of NASA and other space agencies around the world.

In recent years, commercial space activity has shown promise to become a self-sustainable human space activity, using space tourism as the springboard for a variety of activities. Starting with suborbital experience and private citizen tours of Earth-orbiting space stations, the foundations are being laid for lunar tourism. The MOBIUS mission proposed by a student at USC looked at such a mission.

The Dear Moon project is an example of what a lunar orbiting tour may be like. An artist from Japan wants to take his friends on a seven-day lunar orbital swing-by mission so they can all be inspired to literally create out-of-this-world art during the trip, and in the process attract children to take up such adventures when they grow up. Such a commercially self-sustaining project is proposed by Spacex, a pioneering space company that is located a few miles down the road from Palos Verdes in the city of Hawthorne. Spacex is already building prototypes of the Starship, the largest rocket ever, to fly this group of artists around the Moon and back.

Museum of the Moon is an ongoing traveling exhibition co-commissioned by a number of creative organizations brought together by some European artists led by visionary artist extraordinaire, Luke Jerram. The artwork has also been supported in partnership with the UK Space Agency, University of Bristol and The Association for Science and Discovery Centres.

Museum of the Moon created by Luke Jerram is a 23-foot glowing globe of the Moon, created with high resolution NASA images printed on the surface, that is a travelling exhibition going around the world, amazing and inspiring people of all ages.

Great religions of the world, Islam in particular, hold the Moon in high esteem. In the millennial Architecture+Engineering Space Architecture studio at USC, a student with local Imam consultation, proposed a concept for a mosque on the Moon. The student who proposed this concept is now a minister in the Saudi Arabian government. In the same studio, another student proposed large swaths of the Moon for conservation, much like our national parks, to be left undisturbed by any development, as pristine nature preserves. This may be a visionary goal, suggesting that humanity should not deface our Moon with economic activity ?

Astronauts returning from space seem to agree that their worldview has changed after experiencing the view of planet Earth from above. The Apollo crew in particular, after having seen the entire Earth disc synoptically from lunar distance, seem to have had a profound life-changing experience. Despite their scientific background and years of intensive crew training, they seem to gravitate toward the spiritual.

Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 pilot took communion upon landing on the Moon before he stepped out to explore. Astronaut Alan Bean took up painting lunar scenery after Apollo 12 mission. Astronaut Edgar Mitchell had a spiritual awakening after Apollo 14 mission and referred to the experience as Sankalpa Samadhi from the Sanskrit scriptures and co-founded the Institute of Noetic Sciences, an organization that studies paranormal phenomena. And this “Overview Effect” that philosopher Frank White studies is brought about by directly seeing the unique nature of Earth and observing the fragility of the biosphere first hand from deep space.

Space activity, human space activity in particular, seems to be pointing humanity toward a new level of refinement, from our preoccupation with the “technological sublime” that scholars Perry Miller and David Nye refer to in the our society, to reach for a higher, more wholesome spiritual sublime.

Our Moon features in many imaginative science fiction stories and movies. Since the Moon is so close to Earth and real, such stories and visions tend to vicariously transport the reader and the viewer as no other alien landscape might.

2001:A Space Odyssey is a notable movie that was first screened in 1968, a year before the Apollo 11 moon landing. The scenes from 2001: had a profound impact on the science and technology community, not to mention the general audience who were equally impressed by the cinematography, the sets and the story, all of which were thoughtfully put together by the team that included accomplished space technology advisers as well.

As our Moon orbits the Earth, it is the only object with a highly visible disc and landmarks that we can directly observe without permanently damaging our eyes. The planets, stars and even the occasionally visible Earth-orbiting International Space Station all pale in comparison.

This wondrous celestial object that is our Moon is a continent that is truly a global ambassador because it orbits our Earth, it is visible from all continents and latitudes, engages all our peoples awe and fascination without reservation, and through dynamic phases, attracts our attention each and every day.

Space is the ultimate arena for the expression of freedom for all humanity, as we know it. Human activities in space liberate us from the confines of Earth’s cradle, refine our sensitivities, and elevate our aspirations beyond our myopic view of resources, national boundaries and cultures, governance philosophies and policies, diverse governance and civic models; Nature in her starkest, rawest mode, guiding, nudging, our species to become citizens of the solar system and beyond, sensitizing us to the immediate cosmic environment beyond our home planet.

We now know that our feelers into space we call “space situational awareness”, knowing the behavior of our Sun, our Moon, the solar wind that arrives via the magnetic fields, the coronal mass ejections and the high energy particles that create mesmerizing auroras on Earth and the paths of the Earth-crossing asteroids and comets are all vital to our survival.

Floating silently in the deep black velvety void, our Moon is the closest extraterrestrial body where our species can come together and work together in plain sight of all humanity on Earth, to preserve and protect as we step out of cradle Earth to embrace the raw beauty and bounty of nature.

Our Moon is the closest natural site for humanity’s aspiration to become a truly spacefaring species.

Half a century ago, our species set forth on an incredible adventure, and landed, walked and drove vehicles, sang and even played golf while conducting scientific exploration on our Moon. The first human footsteps on an extraterrestrial world were taken fifty years ago on July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped on our Moon.

The first bootprint on the Moon by Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong is a cultural asset not only for Americans who made it happen, but for our entire species. We must do whatever it takes to preserve it from the elements and imminent missions to t… — The first bootprint on the Moon by Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong is a cultural asset not only for Americans who made it happen, but for our entire species. We must do whatever it takes to preserve it from the elements and imminent missions to the Moon that can deteriorate, and perhaps, even erase it(Credit NASA).

Great civilizations always preserve history and we should do the same to protect these first bootprints from the harsh lunar surface environment, including the constant micrometeoritic bombardment and thermal effects that, if left alone to nature, will erode them over time. In fact, the recently published NASA Artemis Accords suggests that we take care not to disturb those historical sites and artifacts that we left there.

NASA recently announced the Artemis mission to put a woman and a man on the Moon as soon as possible. This announcement was followed soon after by The Artemis Accords that proposes the implementation of an international agreement to preserve and protect such space and these extraterrestrial artifacts of cultural and historic value. As our journey to the Moon and beyond continues, we cannot allow the traces of the first steps of our species beyond cradle Earth to be lost.

Many nations have their eyes on ambitious missions to the Moon in the near future. It is important that the whole world carefully coordinate such an extraterrestrial effort.

Since our Moon is small, lacks an atmosphere, and poses very low gravity, rocks and debris thrown up by landing vehicles can achieve much more energies than bullets from high power rifles. In fact, some debris from landers with heavy cargo might even achieve orbital velocities, with potential to cause lethal harm to crew and exposed surface assets like solar power arrays and observatories, many miles from the landing zone, and even threaten orbiting spacecraft. So it is essential that we find ways to avoid this problem. One way to service landers is to build sturdy, dust-free landing pads. Robots capable of such extraterrestrial construction activity are being developed and NASA is studying such landing pads.

Lunar Landing pads will prevent landers from raising dust and debris that can have lethal consequences for astronauts and also destroy sensitive exposed assets like telescopes and other observatories. Sturdy landing pads on the Moon may be built usi… — Lunar Landing pads will prevent landers from raising dust and debris that can have lethal consequences for astronauts and also destroy sensitive exposed assets like telescopes and other observatories. Sturdy landing pads on the Moon may be built using state of the art robots using 3D printing technologies.

To be safe, the Artemis Accords proposes setting up a global registry for all parties planning ambitious lunar missions, not only to avoid such accidents, but also calls for a concerted effort to save lives in case our astronauts suffer an anomaly that needs emergency rescue measures. Unlike on Earth, if things go wrong on the surface of the Moon, we will need the whole world to literally pull for us.

Now our Moon beckons us to go back there, not as a symbol of national prowess or military might, not just out of scientific curiosity or as a marvel of technology, but to simply unite our species with an eye toward global harmony and peace. After all, our Moon has watched our planet from close to birth, turning from a ball of fiery molten lava and rugged rock, seen her pummeled time and again, only to transform into the vibrant blue orb with all the bounty that we now cherish.

By going back to our Moon, perhaps we can make our Moon a mirror for Earth, alive with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that we cherish, and constantly remind us, the stewards of Earth, how precious our biosphere is, all in the middle of the vast dark void of space. Spaceship Earth, the term that the polymath Buckminster Fuller coined back in the ‘60s could have a most benign, silent but ever watchful sister in our Moon, the same “sora Luna” that Francis of Assisi pays homage to in the song Laudes Creaturarum.

As Norman Cousins observed after the Apollo moon landing, “What was most significant about the lunar voyage was not that men set foot on the Moon, but that they set eye on the Earth”. Looking beyond the current pandemic, we see our Moon shining ever so cool and bright, enriching our lives, enhancing our culture with poetry and song and dance, and most of all, greeting us, a welcome sight, even on a most dreary night.

Our Moon A Symbol of Freedom

[M.Thangavelu USC SeleneOption 2016]

Poetry and free speech make us Whole

Freedom of Art and Music and Dance warm our Soul

Aspire to our cherished values of Freedom

Beyond Science and Technology pursuit in the free world

Are Symbols of Freedom

Our Moon a Symbol of Freedom

Our Moon is that glorious orb in the night sky

Splendor shared by all alive

Not the International Space Station

Or the East river seat of UN in NY

Our Moon greets all Humanity all the time

Our Moon is a Symbol of Freedom

Hold hands, hug and sing and dance on our Moon

The Eighth continent come alive

The entire free world watch in awe, laugh and cry

Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

Light up and come alive

E pluribus Unum is real, it’s here, hear, hear

New world beckon from up above

Our Moon a Symbol of Freedom

Madhu Thangavelu

Department of Astronautical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering & School of Architecture, University of Southern California, National Space Society Board of Directors

Madhu Thangavelu conducts the ASTE527 graduate Space Exploration Architectures Concept Synthesis Studio in the Department of Astronautical Engineering within the Viterbi School of Engineering, and he is also a graduate thesis adviser in the School of Architecture at USC. He holds degrees in both engineering and architecture and has contributed extensively to concepts in space architecture, especially dealing with extraterrestrial development. He is the author or co-author of over 70 technical papers in space architecture, lunar base design and human factors, and co-author of the book The Moon: Resources, Future Development and Settlement (1999) published by John Wiley and Sons and the second edition by Springer/Praxis in 2007. He is the invited author of the chapter “Living on the Moon” in the Encyclopedia of Aerospace Engineering, a major reference work published by John Wiley and Sons in 2010 and the online second edition updated in 2012. He is a member of the USC team that won the NASA NIAC Phase I award in 2011 and Phase II award in 2012. As a former AIAA officer, he served as Vice Chair for Education in the Los Angeles section. He is on the faculty of the International Space University, an international organization that provides training for a promising new generation of leaders and space professionals around the world.
He is a strong advocate for articulating the philosophy of space: Scientists and Engineers(in particular) have a tendency to get lost in the tools and toys they make, though some of us do arrive at philosophy for the meaning of what we do and why, via the long route of experience. By then, alas, for the most part, our life’s work is done. It is a good idea to set us all on a solid foundation in space philosophy, so we can all have a steady handle on our works, as nature reveals her secrets… slowly, ever so slowly, but surely…

Websites of interest:

https://classes.pvnet.com/description?id=326

https://pressroom.usc.edu/madhu-thangavelu/

https://sites.google.com/a/usc.edu/aste527/home

https://isdc2019.nss.org/home/schedule/sessions/moon/

https://mmp.planetary.org/artis/thanm/thanm70.htm